Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos

The Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, also known as the Alcázar of Córdoba, is a medieval Alcázar located in the historic centre of Córdoba, next to the Guadalquivir River and near the Grand Mosque. The Alcázar takes its name. The fortress served as one of the primary residences of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon.It is a building of ordered military character to build by the king Alfonso XI of Castile in the year 1328, on previous constructions . The architectural ensemble has a sober character in its exterior and splendid in its interior, with the magnificent gardens and courtyards that maintain an Mudéjar inspiration.The Alcázar has been declared a Cultural Interest Heritage since 1931. It forms part of the Historic Center of Córdoba that was declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 1994.HistoryIn early medieval times, the site was occupied by a Visigoth fortress. When the Visigoths fell to the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, the emirs of the Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus rebuilt the structure. The Umayyads fell to the Abbasid Caliphate and the surviving member of the Umayyad Dynasty, Abd ar-Rahman I, fled to Córdoba. Abd ar-Rahman I's successors established the independent Caliphate of Córdoba and used the Alcázar as their palace. The city subsequently flourished as an important political and cultural center, and the Alcázar was expanded to a very large compound with baths, gardens, and the largest library in the West. Watermills on the nearby Guadalquivir powered water lifting to irrigate the extensive gardens.